Book Club: “A Marriage of Opposites” by Alice Hoffman
The Shomrei Book Club met on Dec. 14 for a lively discussion of “The Midwife of Venice” by Roberta Rich. We also talked about the sequel “The Harem Midwife,” but decided not to read it for the next meeting.
Instead, we will travel to the exotic Carribbean to read “A Marriage of Opposites” by Alice Hoffman for the meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016.
The book describes the life of artist Camille Pissaro as well as the background of his life: the unusual community of Jews living in a diverse society in the 1800s on the tropical island of St. Thomas. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things comes this forbidden love story about the extraordinary woman who gave birth to painter considered the Father of Impressionism. His mother, Rachel, dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France.
Everyone is welcome to join us on this exciting journey! Read the book and come to the next meeting. Contact Josie Zeman at if you need more information.
